Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) passes in the first half of an NCAA college football game against LSU in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Nov. 23, 2013. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)

INDIANAPOLIS — Johnny Manziel, aggressive as a quarterback at Texas A&M, was on the defensive on Feb. 21 during his interview session at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Blake Bortles from Central Florida twice made the point he will never do anything to embarrass the team that drafts him and reminded anyone who wasn’t sure that he is 6-foot-5. Both statements were indirect swipes at Manziel even if it wasn’t the intent.
Yes, it was quarterback day at the Combine, and the way Manziel and Bortles tried to sell themselves to the media was just a glimpse of the way they are trying to sell themselves to the 32 NFL teams before the first round of the draft on May 8.
Teddy Bridgewater, another star of this quarterback class, did not appear in the media room Feb. 21. He is expected to show Feb. 22 so he doesn’t have to share headlines with Manziel and Bortles.
First came the news Manziel measured at 5-foot-11 3/4 — just a shade less than six feet but the reaction from the media was as though doctors discovered he has a tail.
“I play with a lot of heart. I play with a lot of passion,” Manziel said.” I feel like I play like I’m 10-feet tall. A measurement to me is just a number.”
The inevitable questions about his off the field shenanigans weren’t far behind and he fended them off, too, vowing to leave his college days behind him.
“I believe whenever I decided to make this decision to turn professional it was a time to really put my college years in the past,” Manziel said. “This is a job now. There are guys’ families, coaches’ families and jobs and all kinds of things on the line. For me it’s nothing. It won’t be a hard thing to kick or a hard deal to not do. I’m extremely focused on whatever organization I’ll be at and really pouring my heart out trying to be football 24/7 with that team.”
There were practical questions, too, such as how will he convince teams, the Browns among them, that his style will work in the NFL. Russell Wilson, 5-foot-11 1/2, just won the Super Bowl for the Seattle Seahawks as a quarterback that can succeed rolling out of the pocket.
“There are times where plays aren’t going to go as scripted as people draw them up on the white board,” Manziel said. “Whenever that does happen and you go through your reads and you do certain things, there are going to be times where you need to take off and get outside the pocket and extend plays. But at the same time I want to be a guy who can drop back and go through my progressions, go through my reads and really take what’s given to me by the defense.”
Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is an advocate of Manziel and shorter quarterbacks because of what Russell has proven.
“Size doesn’t matter,” Carroll said. “We’ve learned that Russell’s a great football player and a great competitor and it just doesn’t matter what package he comes in. It’s not because he’s 5-11 1/2 that he’s a great football player. He’s a great football player.
“It’s interesting, now. Here we are in another draft with some notable players that are likewise. I think it was Johnny that said Russell had opened the door for him and guys like him. That’s true. Prior to the last couple years the general thinking was that a guy of Russell’s stature couldn’t play, which obviously is wrong.”
Russell was a third-round draft choice in 2012. Nobody thought about taking him with the first pick.
Manziel isn’t the only quarterback hopeful of being drafted first. Bortles has the same ambition. Bortles said he will do everything at the combine, including throwing on Feb. 24. Manziel is waiting for his Pro Day on March 27 to throw for NFL coaches and general managers.
“Why wait ’til pro day when you have an opportunity to make your first impression here in Indianapolis?” Bortles said. “I grew up watching this as a kid and dreamed of competing in it, why would I sit anything out and do any of that kind of stuff?”
Bortles said being able to stand tall in the pocket separates him from Manziel and Bridgewater,
“Being 6-5, 230, being able to throw off platform, extend plays with my feet, stuff of that sort,” Bortles said. “I’m able to handle a lot of offense, able to make throws, be trustworthy. I think are all things that are keys in being the top quarterback prospect.
“Making the right decisions on and off the field, not embarrassing the franchise or your last name I think is huge, especially when you’re playing quarterback in the National Football League.”
Manziel said he is prepared to play in cold weather. Bortles said the same thing. Bortles is more in the physical mold of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the Ravens Joe Flacco.
“Brett Favre was my hero,” Bortles said. “I just idolized the toughness and passion he played the game with. But I mean, guys playing now, I think physically Ben Roethlisberger and Andrew Luck, I think are both great athletic guys that extend plays and throw off platform and do that.
“I think mentally, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning (are the best). By no means am I those guys. They’re the best at what they do, as far as running the no huddle, controlling the defense, controlling tempo and things of that such. But 100 percent I believe that eventually I can do what those guys do, and that’s the goal.”
The Browns will have to wait their turn to draft a quarterback with the fourth pick. The Texans are expected to take one with the first pick and the Jaguars are expected to take one third.